Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 19, 2026
09:29
Utilization of Plasmonic and Photonic Crystal Nanostructures for Enhanced Micro- and Nanoparticle Manipulation
Published on: September 27, 2011
12.7K
Nanoplasmonic electron acceleration by attosecond-controlled forward rescattering in silver clusters
Johannes Passig1, Sergey Zherebtsov2,3, Robert Irsig1
1Institut für Physik, Universität Rostock, Albert-Einstein-Str. 23, D-18059, Rostock, Germany.
Nature Communications
|October 31, 2017
Summary
Scientists discovered a new way to control electron acceleration using plasmonic systems. This method allows for precise control over electron direction and energy, paving the way for advanced attosecond electron pulse sources.
Area of Science:
- Strong-field physics
- Attosecond science
- Plasmonics
Background:
- Fastest electrons in strong-field photoemission arise from tunneling and recollision.
- The rescattering picture is key to attosecond science, enabling electron trajectory control via laser electric fields.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore a novel route for waveform-controlled electron acceleration.
- To investigate forward rescattering in resonant plasmonic systems for enhanced photoemission.
Main Methods:
- Studied plasmon-enhanced photoemission from silver clusters.
- Analyzed the control of directional electron acceleration using a two-color laser field.
Main Results:
- Discovered directional electron acceleration controlled by the relative phase of a two-color laser field.
- Identified the plasmonic near-field acting as a sub-cycle directional gate for selective electron acceleration.
Conclusions:
- A generic mechanism for robust attosecond control of electron acceleration at plasmonic nanostructures was identified.
- This research opens perspectives for laser-based sources of attosecond electron pulses.
